EPL and British Football

[Croak]

well technically i started school at the age of 4 as my birthday is in november

never had a pc when i was growing up, so first pc game would have been one of the C&C games, first fotty game would have been champ manager 00/01, though did play older versions of it on the sega megadrive, i was always notts county for some reason

Our first PC game was a texted based. We got this amazing new thing called a home computer and it was a Coleco Adam with dual tape drive. There were no graphics. There wasn't internal storage. LOL. All the games were text based. "You knock on the door." "Nothing happens". etc etc etc.

 

[Sandolf]

I think Citeh are a good side, (they should be by now) having all that Arab money thrown at them.

We all know our own teams better than anybody else's. I can comment on the Chargers paying heavily for Jared Gaither, Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal etc... but as far as the Packers are concerned I am a bit clueless. I know when the Abu Dhabi Group bought City they were interested in establishing a globally recognizable brand. This was supposed to enhance their reputation as builders and they realized that this was going to take some time. I think that to term what they have accomplished as "throwing money around' is the typical language of the detractors. Did they over pay for a few players or make a few mistakes? Surely. Robinho was expensive, but his signing was a statement of intent. Adebayor didn't pan out.

But I still think they are weak in defence at times, and previously against well drilled sides they come unstuck.

We'll see in the next few hours if they get Mangala from Porto. One top center back may purge the leaks. Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany and Kolarov are doing fine. Demichelis and Nastasic are good depth players. One more holding midfielder to replace Rodwell is probably on the wish list.

Mancini was a class act and should still be coach.

Well in NFL football terms nobody sneezes when a general manager is hired and wants to bring in his own guy. Garry Cook was hired to take over from the previous regime and inherited Mark Hughes who was already there. He eventually got his way and brought in Mancini to replace him. I loved having him as our manager and he did win a title. But he was very unpopular amongst the players. The training ground bust up with Balotelli was not the kind of thing that was going to go down well with the owners. Ferran Soriano replaced Cook when the latter got embroiled in his email scandal. And he did what Cook did before him in choosing Pelligrini as his own guy.

In this respect their owners are similar to Abramovich all to eager to hire and fire at will.

I don't see the management styles of the two clubs being comparable other than the fact they spend a lot money. City have had an awful lot of catching up to do. Platini's Fair Play Rule has also narrowed the time frame in which this catching up would be possible. Chelsea supporters like to think it is the same thing because it may be a way to explain off the unexplainable... (like 50 mil GBP for Fernando Torres). But believe me there is a difference between firing a manager who has just won a Champions League title defeating FC Bayern on their own ground to firing one presiding over a sad sack performance in a FA Cup Final loss against soon to be relegated Wigan!

 

[PackerFan71]

We all know our own teams better than anybody else's. I can comment on the Chargers paying heavily for Jared Gaither, Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal etc... but as far as the Packers are concerned I am a bit clueless. I know when the Abu Dhabi Group bought City they were interested in establishing a globally recognizable brand. This was supposed to enhance their reputation as builders and they realized that this was going to take some time. I think that to term what they have accomplished as "throwing money around' is the typical language of the detractors. Did they over pay for a few players or make a few mistakes? Surely. Robinho was expensive, but his signing was a statement of intent. Adebayor didn't pan out.

We all know our own teams better than anybody else's. I can comment on the Chargers paying heavily for Jared Gaither, Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal etc... but as far as the Packers are concerned I am a bit clueless. I know when the Abu Dhabi Group bought City they were interested in establishing a globally recognizable brand. This was supposed to enhance their reputation as builders and they realized that this was going to take some time. I think that to term what they have accomplished as "throwing money around' is the typical language of the detractors. Did they over pay for a few players or make a few mistakes? Surely. Robinho was expensive, but his signing was a statement of intent. Adebayor didn't pan out.



We'll see in the next few hours if they get Mangala from Porto. One top center back may purge the leaks. Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany and Kolarov are doing fine. Demichelis and Nastasic are good depth players. One more holding midfielder to replace Rodwell is probably on the wish list.



Well in NFL football terms nobody sneezes when a general manager is hired and wants to bring in his own guy. Garry Cook was hired to take over from the previous regime and inherited Mark Hughes who was already there. He eventually got his way and brought in Mancini to replace him. I loved having him as our manager and he did win a title. But he was very unpopular amongst the players. The training ground bust up with Balotelli was not the kind of thing that was going to go down well with the owners. Ferran Soriano replaced Cook when the latter got embroiled in his email scandal. And he did what Cook did before him in choosing Pelligrini as his own guy.



I don't see the management styles of the two clubs being comparable other than the fact they spend a lot money. City have had an awful lot of catching up to do. Platini's Fair Play Rule has also narrowed the time frame in which this catching up would be possible. Chelsea supporters like to think it is the same thing because it may be a way to explain off the unexplainable... (like 50 mil GBP for Fernando Torres). But believe me there is a difference between firing a manager who has just won a Champions League title defeating FC Bayern on their own ground to firing one presiding over a sad sack performance in a FA Cup Final loss against soon to be relegated Wigan!

We'll see in the next few hours if they get Mangala from Porto. One top center back may purge the leaks. Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany and Kolarov are doing fine. Demichelis and Nastasic are good depth players. One more holding midfielder to replace Rodwell is probably on the wish list.



Well in NFL football terms nobody sneezes when a general manager is hired and wants to bring in his own guy. Garry Cook was hired to take over from the previous regime and inherited Mark Hughes who was already there. He eventually got his way and brought in Mancini to replace him. I loved having him as our manager and he did win a title. But he was very unpopular amongst the players. The training ground bust up with Balotelli was not the kind of thing that was going to go down well with the owners. Ferran Soriano replaced Cook when the latter got embroiled in his email scandal. And he did what Cook did before him in choosing Pelligrini as his own guy.



I don't see the management styles of the two clubs being comparable other than the fact they spend a lot money. City have had an awful lot of catching up to do. Platini's Fair Play Rule has also narrowed the time frame in which this catching up would be possible. Chelsea supporters like to think it is the same thing because it may be a way to explain off the unexplainable... (like 50 mil GBP for Fernando Torres). But believe me there is a difference between firing a manager who has just won a Champions League title defeating FC Bayern on their own ground to firing one presiding over a sad sack performance in a FA Cup Final loss against soon to be relegated Wigan!

We all know our own teams better than anybody else's. I can comment on the Chargers paying heavily for Jared Gaither, Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal etc... but as far as the Packers are concerned I am a bit clueless. I know when the Abu Dhabi Group bought City they were interested in establishing a globally recognizable brand. This was supposed to enhance their reputation as builders and they realized that this was going to take some time. I think that to term what they have accomplished as "throwing money around' is the typical language of the detractors. Did they over pay for a few players or make a few mistakes? Surely. Robinho was expensive, but his signing was a statement of intent. Adebayor didn't pan out.



We'll see in the next few hours if they get Mangala from Porto. One top center back may purge the leaks. Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany and Kolarov are doing fine. Demichelis and Nastasic are good depth players. One more holding midfielder to replace Rodwell is probably on the wish list.



Well in NFL football terms nobody sneezes when a general manager is hired and wants to bring in his own guy. Garry Cook was hired to take over from the previous regime and inherited Mark Hughes who was already there. He eventually got his way and brought in Mancini to replace him. I loved having him as our manager and he did win a title. But he was very unpopular amongst the players. The training ground bust up with Balotelli was not the kind of thing that was going to go down well with the owners. Ferran Soriano replaced Cook when the latter got embroiled in his email scandal. And he did what Cook did before him in choosing Pelligrini as his own guy.



I don't see the management styles of the two clubs being comparable other than the fact they spend a lot money. City have had an awful lot of catching up to do. Platini's Fair Play Rule has also narrowed the time frame in which this catching up would be possible. Chelsea supporters like to think it is the same thing because it may be a way to explain off the unexplainable... (like 50 mil GBP for Fernando Torres). But believe me there is a difference between firing a manager who has just won a Champions League title defeating FC Bayern on their own ground to firing one presiding over a sad sack performance in a FA Cup Final loss against soon to be relegated Wigan!

I'm not a zealot like some other supporters, I see a lot of good things that Roman Abramovic has done for Chelsea but I also recognise his mistakes, The high turnover of coaches being one, the astronomical fee for Torres being another (although his goal in Barca got us to the final.) He did also score against Benfica remember.......

Man City hmmmm They win their first title in decades the following season they sack the manager just like Mark Hughes before. And it's not as though their signing policy has been total success either, I don't need to remind you of Robinho and the crazy Italian striker. The owners of Chelsea and Citeh want instant returns their is no denying it, but sacking coaches every year is no way to bring long term stability.

 

[Sandolf]

The owners of Chelsea and Citeh want instant returns their is no denying it, but sacking coaches every year is no way to bring long term stability.

You can't make your case against City by exaggerating your claims. Mancini was on from 2009-2013. There was the partial season taking over from Sparky. An FA Cup win the next. The Premiership title followed. And then the season he was dismissed. Truth be told the current owners are way less volatile of the previous one... (the Thai dictator Thaksin Shinawatra who much more reminds me of Abramovich).

City fans because of their past are mostly loyal to the managers and are sad to see them go despite limited success. When Shinawatra was threatening to fire Sven Goran Erickson they started singing... (to the tune of Another Brick in the Wall)...

We don't need no Luiz Scolari
We don't need no Jose Mourinho
Thaksin, leave our Sven alone!

I can hardly imagine the indignity served up to Rafa Benitez by the Chelsea fans happening with us. So yeah, I don't think we are undeserving. And if people do have problems with Arab money, (and that is the root of their prejudice against our club), maybe an electric car may be in order.

 

[mhnessie]

What are you guys talking about, if money from a bunch of Arab sheikhs is better than money from a Russian Oligarch, the Glazers or a Thai dictator ?
At the end it doesnt matter. If they ever will lose interest in owning a football team they just leave behind overindebted football teams and fans in despair.
I'm pretty sure that this bubble will burst one day.

Edit: But this has nothing to do with the fact that I envy you guys of having the possibility to see top class players and top class football
There is a reason why the EPL is the most popular football league worldwide...

 

[Bundesbiers]

@scotscheese Tyne-Wear Derby. Its on!

 

[PackerFan71]

You can't make your case against City by exaggerating your claims. Mancini was on from 2009-2013. There was the partial season taking over from Sparky. An FA Cup win the next. The Premiership title followed. And then the season he was dismissed. Truth be told the current owners are way less volatile of the previous one... (the Thai dictator Thaksin Shinawatra who much more reminds me of Abramovich).

City fans because of their past are mostly loyal to the managers and are sad to see them go despite limited success. When Shinawatra was threatening to fire Sven Goran Erickson they started singing... (to the tune of Another Brick in the Wall)...

We don't need no Luiz Scolari
We don't need no Jose Mourinho
Thaksin, leave our Sven alone!

I can hardly imagine the indignity served up to Rafa Benitez by the Chelsea fans happening with us. So yeah, I don't think we are undeserving. And if people do have problems with Arab money, (and that is the root of their prejudice against our club), maybe an electric car may be in order.

If slagging off Chelsea is your thing fill yer boots I'm not bothered, I'm not getting in a troll fight with anyone.

 

[Sandolf]

At the end it doesnt matter. If they ever will lose interest in owning a football team they just leave behind overindebted football teams and fans in despair.
I'm pretty sure that this bubble will burst one day.

That's really the point nessie. I feel passionately about defending the ownership of MCFC because they haven't done anyone wrong. There can be a case made for firing Mancini. I did not agree with it... but others like Samir Nasri who has blossomed more under Pelligrini would disagree.

Not referring to PF71 specifically, a lot of the case against the Abu Dhabi Group is nothing better than racial profiling. I am not slagging off Chelsea. I am just making a point that the owners are quite different. That is certainly not trolling.

 

[PackerFan71]

That's really the point nessie. I feel passionately about defending the ownership of MCFC because they haven't done anyone wrong. There can be a case made for firing Mancini. I did not agree with it... but others like Samir Nasri who has blossomed more under Pelligrini would disagree.

Not referring to PF71 specifically, a lot of the case against the Abu Dhabi Group is nothing better than racial profiling. I am not slagging off Chelsea. I am just making a point that the owners are quite different. That is certainly not trolling.

Fill yer boots.

 

[mhnessie]

Come on guys, its only football
We all love our teams, we are a nice bunch of football/soccer fans here and it should remain that way.

Back on topic: Holtby to Fulham on loan
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/01/31/holtby-moves-to-fulham-on-loan/
Looks like the EPL is out of his league, I expect him to be back in the Bundesliga after this season.

 

[Sandolf]

Come on guys, its only football
We all love our teams, we are a nice bunch of football/soccer fans here and it should remain that way.

It should be no problem to speak our minds. I did very carefully detail my point of view.

 

[mhnessie]

It should be no problem to speak our minds. I did very carefully detail my point of view.

Ich möchte mich ja gar nicht einmischen Sandolf, just had the impression that you guys unnecessarily went a little too far with your discussion, that sometimes happens in the heat of the moment. I'll stay out of this

 

[mhnessie]

Our first PC game was a texted based. We got this amazing new thing called a home computer and it was a Coleco Adam with dual tape drive. There were no graphics. There wasn't internal storage. LOL. All the games were text based. "You knock on the door." "Nothing happens". etc etc etc.

Very interesting croak, never heard of a Coleco Adam before, had to google it.
Sounds like you played one of the first adventure games.
I had a few on my C64/C128 too....thats how it started, amazing, isnt it ?

 

[Sandolf]

Ich möchte mich ja gar nicht einmischen Sandolf, just had the impression that you guys unnecessarily went a little too far with your discussion, that sometimes happens in the heat of the moment. I'll stay out of this

Well we all have opinions. If I said to you that I prefer FC St. Pauli to HSV, you may be interested in how I represent my preference. If you are not interested it is really not much of a discussion. Nobody is likely to change their views based on what any of us believes. But I for one am willing to indulge another point of view... (which is hardly very well articulated with a comment like "fill yer boots").

 

[PackerFan71]

Well we all have opinions. If I said to you that I prefer FC St. Pauli to HSV, you may be interested in how I represent my preference. If you are not interested it is really not much of a discussion. Nobody is likely to change their views based on what any of us believes. But I for one am willing to indulge another point of view... (which is hardly very well articulated with a comment like "fill yer boots").

Now thats funny.

 

[Sandolf]

Now thats funny.

Seriously. If you know something about the Abu Dhabi Group I don't, please tell me. I have read very much on the subject, but I don't discount the possibility that there is something I am not seeing.

 

[PackerFan71]

Seriously. If you know something about the Abu Dhabi Group I don't, please tell me. I have read very much on the subject, but I don't discount the possibility that there is something I am not seeing.

Likewise if you know anything i dont about Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich please tell me, i know a little bit about him also........

 

[Sandolf]

Likewise if you know anything i dont about Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich please tell me, i know a little bit about him also........

Fair enough.

---
This article from the Saturday Independent kind of captures the spirit of what I was trying to say. We'll see Monday what happens.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...itle-is-manchester-citys-to-lose-9097610.html

 

[Bundesbiers]

Wow, what did I miss in here? A **** and vinegar Chelsea-City squabble?

On the other hand, my game was rather painful to watch this morning.

 

[Sandolf]

Wow, what did I miss in here? A **** and vinegar Chelsea-City squabble?

I have had to take a more conciliatory view of Chelsea because my brother is a serious fan. Back in the day I used to call them the Zola Monsters because that guy always found a way to do us in.

On the other hand, my game was rather painful to watch this morning.

I sense that you are already looking for a honorable way to defect your allegiance to Arsenal.

 

[Bundesbiers]

I sense that you are already looking for a honorable way to defect your allegiance to Arsenal.

Of the teams in the top 5, I like Arsenal the best so I hope they win.

 

[Sandolf]

Of the teams in the top 5, I like Arsenal the best so I hope they win.

Wenger is also a German sounding name. Are you still advocating his replacement?

 

[Bundesbiers]

Wenger is also a German sounding name. Are you still advocating his replacement?

Yes. But at least I found where he was hiding all that transfer cash.

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[Sandolf]

The Rags lost 2-1 to the Potters. This is great! I wonder if RVP wouldn't rather be playing for the Gooners now.

---
Good for Sparky. He must be pleased.

 

[Sandolf]

The Baggies hold Liverpool to a draw.... (much to the relief of the Rags who now have 7 pts to make up to 4th place instead of 9).